


Message In a Bottle

by endgameerror (uwanoyoyo)



Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: M/M, tags will update as the story progresses
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-23
Updated: 2018-01-13
Packaged: 2018-11-18 00:19:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,043
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11279811
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/uwanoyoyo/pseuds/endgameerror
Summary: Kamui's earlier days of when he was bored inside the Northern Fortress and decided to write a message in a bottle. This eventually leads up to a secret friendship over time and he ends up falling in love with his pen pal unexpectedly.Doesn't really fit too much with the actual Fates story in most areas because it's just a splurge of ideas.





	1. Chapter 1

"I finally finished..." Kamui mumbled to himself as he examined the message he wrote on the parchment paper in front of him. Staying in the Northern Fortress wasn't always an easy task. Every day was the same routine with some slight modifications. Wake up early, get dressed, study or take fighting lessons, mannerism lessons, other junk, then go back to bed. Boring, unbearable, tedious, however way you would want to describe it, the whole process sucked. His siblings would visit once every so often whenever they were free. Camilla and Elise would greet him with open arms, Xander was always ready to help him with sword lessons, and Leo would bring a batch of new books for the sheltered prince to keep occupied until their next visit. Even with Jakob, Felicia, Flora, and Gunter along with some other servants around the Fortress, days passed by slowly with little to no excitement. That is until Kamui was in the middle of reading one of Leo's story books that an idea popped up in his head. 

The story he was reading was about how two people from opposite sides of the world who found each other through something called a message in a bottle. Originally, the girl's group of friends thought it would be fun to write a letter, put it into a bottle, and cast it away into the ocean for some stranger to find. Little did she know that in time, the bottle with her message would end up in the complete opposite part of the world in the hands of a boy the same age as her. Time passed and with a some coincidences and message exchanges, the two characters were able to meet in person and live happily ever after. 

Upon finishing the book awhile back, Kamui huffed and thought it was a bunch of bullshit since there was absolutely no way that it could be possible, but then again... it's just a story. A made up story with an imagination that led to many possibilities. He wished that the world was that simple. Do something, meet someone, fall in love, just living a carefree life. Those thoughts led him to the present day where he just finished scribbling a letter on some left over paper he had lying around from Jakob's writing lessons on proper grammar and etiquette. 

"There's no way that anyone's going to find this letter anyways. I'll just write whatever and just put in into the bottle. Even if someone were to come across it, I wouldn't get a reply back." Chuckling a little, Kamui inserts the paper into an old used milk bottle and sealed it with an old cork and glue. It was getting late, it's now or nothing. 

Here goes nothing. 

"Flora!" Kamui called out. 

Moments later, footsteps could be heard down the hall. Flora opened the door and walked into the room shortly afterwards. 

"What is it, Lord Kamui? Something troubling you or do you need help falling asleep? Flora asked jokingly. 

"H-h... hey I'm not a kid anymore!!! Ahem.. I was wondering if you could toss this bottle into a nearby lake or stream or whatever as soon as possible..." Kamui handed the bottle to her hesitantly. 

Flora examined the bottle in her hand and spotted the letter inside it. After thinking for a couple of seconds she gave a warm smile and chuckled. "I see how it is. Hehe Lord Kamui I didn't know you were the type of person to do this kind of thing!" 

Kamui's face started turning pink from her statement but before he could reply, Flora walked out of the room. He was starting to regret this whole situation now. 

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

Flora placed the message in a bottle to a nearby stream on the way back from grocery shopping. 

"I know it's forbidden, but Lord Kamui looked really bored and down lately. I hope he gets a reply from someone.... anyone in the future." 

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------  
"What is it Zero?" Leo asked, when he saw his retainer pick up something near the stream while they were returning from a scouting mission early that morning. He was exhausted and couldn't wait to return back to his quarters to take a nice long nap for the day. 

Zero was curious about what a bottle was doing so deep in the forest. Usually the only things on the ground would be tree branches, dirt, and the occasional trash scattered by lost travelers, but no one would leave something like a glass milk bottle those things can add up to a lot of weight especially if it was full. 

He opened the bottle and took out the folded paper inside. There was faint smell of lilac inside similar to how Leo smelled sometimes after visiting his older sister the Nohrian Princess Camilla. 

"It's nothing milord, just some random trash laying out in the open. I'll dispose of it properly when we get back." He replied tucking away the paper in his pocket and hooked the bottle to his belt to use later.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Zero reads the mysterious document he found in the bottle he picked up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow another update in the same day?

“You're dismissed for now Zero, I'll summon you for another mission as soon as I get a quick nap and finish attending a meeting with Xander shortly.” Leo waved his retainer goodbye as he walked back go his room in the castle after returning from their earlier scouting mission. Odin was busy tending to other duties at the time so he wasn't able to accompany them, but promised to make it up in the future while talking his usual gibberish. 

Zero watched as Leo walked swiftly to his quarters and eagerly closed his door. He knew that his lord wasn't one who enjoyed going on missions so late at night, but since the number of faceless monsters had been rising lately, Leo thought it was a great time to practice some spells that he recently learned. What a hardworking prince.

Turning heels and walking back to his own private quarters near Lord Leo’s own, he closes the door, removes his boots, cape, and belt to set them aside. There wasn't much in the room except for a bed, desk, chair, a built in closet, and some random junk around the area. Zero wasn't too picky about his room’s appearance since it's just a place where he can sleep and stargaze. 

Lying down on his bed with his hands crossed behind his head, he gazed up at the stone ceiling above him taking some time to relax with the free time he currently had. That's when he remembered that he picked up something this morning and reached into his pocket to retrieve the slightly crumpled paper. 

Despite being kept in his pocket for quite some time, it still had a faint smell of Lilac and he knows that commoners wouldn't usually coat their papers in such a luxury of a smell. Opening the paper, he spots a neatly written letter that had a couple of smudges which meant the writer must've been rushing a little since the ink didn't even get a chance to dry yet.

_To whom this may concern,_

_Nice to meet you, my name is Corrin. I took upon myself to try something that I've read about in a novel awhile back which is this message in a bottle. I will be writing random things in this message so I apologize in advance if any of it doesn't make sense………_

“Hm… Corrin?” Zero thought to himself. “That name definitely isn't Nohrian… perhaps they're from Izumo? No that can't be, the stream where I picked this up from doesn't come close to Izumo nor does it lead to anywhere near Hoshido. That's very strange.” 

_...I'm not sure what to write so I guess I'll describe how I look like and what I do everyday._

Well, this is certainly something. “Corrin” began talking about how he wakes up everyday for the same activities and how his bangs got in the way of training sometimes.

_If you ever get the chance, do write a reply. Although…. I'm not sure how you'll be able to send me your reply, but maybe drop it off at that one moonlit meadow off the side of Nohr? I'm just basing it off from an old map inside this book I have. I'm not very sure if that location still exists._

_Best regards,  
Corrin_

The signature looked a little off almost as if the person signing it wasn't used to writing their name and experimenting with different styles. 

How cute.

Zero gave it the benefit of the doubt and shrugged, laying down the letter next to him as he continued to daydream. Perhaps he’ll write a reply when he has time in the future. Zero drifted off to sleep shortly and was awoken by Leo a little afterwards for night watch duties. 

\----------------------------------------------------------------

Back at the Northern Fortress, Kamui wondered if it was a good idea to use an alias instead of his actual name.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A reply from the Outlaw.

_Swoosh….. clank…….clank…… twunk.._

The daily sword-combat training commences with little to no hesitation for Kamui. Gunter watches from a distance as Kamui goes all out with other soldiers around the Northern Fortress trying out various swings with his wooden sword in order to catch the other party off guard. However, even from this distance, he could tell that Kamui could still use some practice on his posture and stance since the poor lad’s having trouble keeping his feet on the ground. 

“Alright that's far enough for today Lord Kamui, it's time for a break.” Gunter commanded and then turned to the soldier, “You too, you're dismissed.” 

The soldier stopped whatever he was doing, nodded, and brought down his slightly chipped wooden sword to his side and proceeded to walk away from the training room. 

Kamui let out an exasperated sigh and wiped his sweat from his brow with his free hand. Then he turned his attention to Gunter who was walking over to him from the corner of the room with a small towel. 

“What was that for Gunter? I could've nearly had him if you would've given me a couple more minutes!!” Kamui complained, snatching the towel from Gunter’s hand and wiped his face with it. 

Gunter shook his head and sighed, “Lord Kamui, even if I were to observe you from a mile away I would've spotted your poor posture and how you're nearly holding on for dear life with that stance! Now stop speaking nonsense and get yourself wiped off, we’re going to prepare for your afternoon lessons. Meanwhile, head to the dining hall to eat.” 

“Uuggghhhhh…...you're just like Jakob.” Kamui groaned. 

Gunter chuckled, “Am I now? Haha, he learns from the best it seems.” Smirking, he turned away from Kamui and proceeded to walk out of the almost empty training hall. 

Kamui sighed and placed the wooden practice sword off to the corner of the hall and sluggishly headed to the dining hall to join Jakob, Felicia, and Flora. 

\------------------------------------------------------------------ 

Walking around the Northern Fortress barefoot had its downsides. Since the floor’s made of stone, it’s always cold against Kamui’s feet whenever he travelled from one end to another. It doesn’t matter anyways, shoes makes him uncomfortable. From a young age, the thought of wearing shoes didn’t appeal to him in the slightest. Footwear restricted the feeling of touching the ground and feeling the texture of whatever was underneath the sole. Kamui never really questioned why he felt this way, but eventually his caretakers and siblings just accepted the fact that he didn’t want to wear shoes. Which was, after the innumerable times of chasing Kamui around the Fortress, but anyways that’s not important right now. 

He’s gotten bored lately and it really affected his mood. The 3 new books that Leo brought for him to read a few months ago were finished recently, and none of his other siblings nor King Garon stopped by to pay him a visit. They're probably busy with work or meetings. 

The dining hall was a well-light room with some intricate designs carved into the walls near the ceiling. Curved windows were aligned on the longer length side of the walls and you can see some trees and in the dimmed night sky. In the middle of the room was a long dining table with red tablecloth draped over it. Four nicely carved wooden chairs are spread out on both length of the table with a chair at the long ends ends. Kamui’s chair was located at the very end of the table near the back of the room. 

Jakob is seen pouring tea into a cup, Flora’s placing different plates of food around the table, and Felicia’s making sure the table’s neat and clean. 

“Good morning, Lord Kamui! I hope you slept well last night!” Felicia happily greeted as Kamui entered the dining hall. 

“Felicia it's nearly noon.” Kamui answered as he walked towards his seat. 

Felicia chuckled a little, “Oh geez, you’re right! It’s a little hard to remember what time of the day it is since we don’t really see that much light in the sky….” 

“Which explains why Jakob has a lot of trouble waking up in the morning.” added Flora. 

“Flora, don’t tell milord such trivial matters!! It’s not important, and I'll have you know I still get up earlier than all of you.” Jakob shot back as he placed the tea pot back onto a cart next to Kamui’s chair. 

Kamui smiled as he sat down on his chair. Jakob pushed him in and tucked a napkin bib into his shirt. 

"Thank you Jakob." 

"My pleasure, milord. Please enjoy your meal." 

Taking his fork and poking around at his food, Kamui starts eating his lunch. 

"Oh yea, Flora did you do the..." 

Flora was busy preparing the dessert. She turned her head towards Kamui and nodded. Kamui smiled and continued eating. 

Jakob and Felicia looked at each other in confusion, but brushed it off. 

“What am I going to do after this Jakob?” Kamui asked, stuffing a piece of egg into his mouth. 

“You will resume your lesson on Nohr history from yesterday. I believe Lady Elise and Lord Leo will be visiting you in a few weeks. So we’ll need to get the castle ready for their visit soon.” 

“Really?!” Kamui’s face lit up, “Finally! It’s been so long!!! I can’t wait, there’s so much I want to discuss!” 

\------------------------------------------------------------------ 

Several days had passed since the incident and Zero still feels a little skeptical about the message in a bottle that he picked up. He had unhooked the old looking bottle from his belt and placed it near the window of his room as a reminder. Deep in thoughts, he laid on his bed with his hands behind his head looking up at the ceiling. Whoever wrote that letter couldn't have been a random person since the area was a popular place for monsters to roam. Lately, Lord Leo has been sitting in the library studying spells, and Odin’s roaming around the castle most likely running errands or just muttering his usual nonsense to the maids and other inhabitants. To put it simply, it’s been really boring without any missions or exciting battles that would otherwise make his blood boil and bring excitement to his daily life. 

Oh what the hell, there's nothing else to do anyways. Letting out a sigh, Zero got up from his bed and walked over to his desk. He couldn't remember the last time he really sat down to write, he usually just slept in his room or sit by his window to gaze at the moon at night time. 

If he could remember correctly, the last thing he wrote was back when he had to forge a signature on some document for an underground supply trade. 

Zero opened the drawer that revealed a letter set that both he and Odin received from Leo. Zero never thought it'll be used anytime soon, but he proved himself wrong. He took a sheet of paper from the set, and opened the bottle of ink. Holding the quill in his right hand, Zero contemplated what he wanted to write for a moment and begun writing. 

_Corrin,_

_I’m assuming you’re going to read this letter. I have no idea who you are, but same probably goes for you. You can use the sword? Seems difficult. You must have a lot of muscles from training. I use a bow. Though it may not be the fanciest weapon ever, I can certainly take your heart in the blink of an eye. You seem like you have a busy schedule, it's amazing that you even had time to write a letter._

_I'm curious. Just who are you Corrin? Normally, commoners won't get their hands on Lilac scented paper, that's a luxury item. You aren't someone shady right? Why don't you tell me more about yourself._

_I doubt you'd even get this reply, but if you do, feel free to reply. I'll come by to pick it up during the next new moon._

_Niles._

__

“There’s no way I’m going to use my real name.” he thought to himself. Zero placed the quill pen next to the paper as he examined the letter. It was good enough. He stuffed it into the bottle, closed it, and hooked it on his belt. He should drop it off next time he goes out, but first, time to get something to eat. 

\------  
“Zero.” 

Zero stopped in his tracks and turned around with a sly grin, “Hm? Ah, yes Lord Leo. Is there anything you require from your humble servant? I'll do anything you desire.” 

Leo shook his head and sighed, "Remember how you went out scouting with me last time? There's a certain plant that grows in that area that I want to study. Can you go get it for me?" 

Zero was handed a piece of paper with a monochrome picture of the item he is to obtain. 

"Do you need me to send some soldiers with you in case of monsters or something?" 

"I can handle it milord." 

"Alright then, good luck. You depart tomorrow." 

"Understood." 

As Zero watched his lord walk away, he thought how perfect the timing was. He can drop off the message in a bottle during the mission.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Year!! Sorry it took me so long to update! I'm so excited to get New Years Kamui.


End file.
